Mediaboss Marketing

Johann van Graan backed his players to make the right on-pitch decisions after Munster missed a chance to rescue a losing bonus point in a 15-6 defeat at Saracens today.

Munster had a late penalty to move within seven points of last seasons Heineken Champions Cup winners in north London but instead of kicking for goal, stand-in captain CJ Stander and his leadership group opted to go for a try and kicked for the corner.

The resulting lineout came to nothing and Munster now go into the last two rounds on 11 points, just a point in front of Saracens and six adrift of Racing 92 at the top of Pool 4 with a trip to Paris to play the table-toppers on January 12.

Head coach van Graan refused to criticise the Munster players for their call and insisted the chance to qualify for the knockout stages was still up for grabs.

"You always back the decisions on the pitch, they decided to go to the corner and unfortunately it didn't work out for us, van Graan said.

"But there's a lot of rugby left in this pool, the fact Saracens didn't get four tries means it's 17, 11, 10 if I'm not mistaken.

"The Paris game becomes a knockout game for us now, we need to go and win in Paris."

Despite losing skipper Peter OMahony to a groin problem during the warm-up and then seeing fellow back-rower Tadhg Beirne leave the game on a stretcher with an ankle or lower leg injury after just 10 minutes, then prop John Ryan to a calf injury before the half-hour mark, Munster held their own against a near full-strength Saracens side and broke a half-time deadlock with a 44th-minute JJ Hanrahan penalty to move into as 6-3 lead.

A mass brawl between the teams soon afterwards that had appeared to have been sparked by an argument between Saracens hooker Jamie George and Munster doctor Jamie Kearns, handed the visitors another penalty as the home side looked rattled but Hanrahan pushed his kicked wide.

Saracens rallied from that point and tries from Sean Maitland and Mako Vunipola sealed their win, much to Munsters frustration.

It's disappointing, we came here to win, van Graan said. We were in the game for large parts of it, but unfortunately in the last 20 minutes they were applying pressure in our 22 and they went for multiple scrums and scored the try that put us under huge pressure

"I felt their bench made a big impact and we lost Pete in the warm-up, Tadhg pretty early, John Ryan pretty early... we were quite thin there at the end.

"It was an incredibly tough game of rugby against the champions in their backyard but I'm incredibly proud of our guys."

Of the fight early in the second half, the Munster boss said: I don't know what happened here, there were a lot of people involved which is never nice to see and we missed the penalty, the score was 6-3 at that stage.

"Had we gone to 9-3 it might have given momentum to our side, so we missed that penalty and that's what I said earlier in the week - to come and win here, only one side has managed it (in Europe), you need to be at your utmost best and take all of your opportunities and unfortunately we left one or two opportunities out there."

Picture: INPHO/Billy Stickland

Saracens boss Mark McCall repeated his defence coach Alex Sandersons claim that Munster doctor Kearns had said something untoward to Jamie George to spark the brawl and that his club would consider taking further action.

We need to decide what we're going to do before I start speaking about that. From what I know, something pretty bad was said at Jamie (George).

"He wouldn't have reacted the way he reacted otherwise. We'll take our time to decide whether we do anything.

I don't think what was said to Jamie was good at all. We'll see. If a doctor....we just have to decide....because it started a 30-man brawl.

"Owen Farrell got penalised for running into the melee but from what I saw 29 other people ran into it.

"It was a strange penalty to give and it was instigated by a member of their staff who said something horrible to one of our players.

"We'll decide what happens next.

More here:
Van Graan: 'You always back the decisions on the pitch' - Irish Examiner

Carshalton Athletic are preparing for an enticing FA Trophy tie this Saturday after winning an enthralling league battle with fellow play-off hopefuls Bognor Regis Town, writes James Barrett-Sterling.

In a game that saw the woodwork hit three times, several saves by both goalkeepers and a host of spurned chances, it was midfielder Kershaney Samuels' first goal for the Robins that proved the eventual difference at Colston Avenue.

The 1-0 win moved Carshalton up into the top five of the Isthmian Premier League and was also their third straight victory on the bounce.

And, while he plots his sides approach against visiting Aveley in the FA knockout competition this coming weekend, player/manager Peter Adeniyi has been most pleased with his squad's recent defensive resolve.

"Bognor are a very good side and I was pleased we restricted them to few opportunities during the game," said Adeniyi.

"I'm very satisfied with a third clean sheet in a row. If you don't concede then you wont lose football matches and weve been stressing that recently.

"We are lucky to have an outstanding crop of defenders here, plus goalkeeper Kleton Perntreou has done his part when required. All of them have played exceptionally well lately."

Bobby Price, one of those aforementioned defenders, almost spectacularly opened the scoring last Saturday with a 25 yard screamer in the third minute that hit both posts without going over the line.

That set the tone for an exciting game that swung back and forth, but Samuels match-winner arrived on 24 minutes he burst to the edge of the Bognor area before playing a neat one-two with the unselfish Tommy Bradford to score past keeper Adamou Tangara.

The visitors had won five of their last six matches ahead of their visit to Colston Avenue, and James Crane came close to equalising before the break as his 15 yard strike cannoned back off a post.

Either wasteful finishing or good saves by Tangara kept Carshalton from adding to their lead after the break, while Perntreou was called into late action by Ashton Leighs angled drive to help preserve his sides clean sheet.

It was a really enjoyable game playing against Bognor and Im sure any neutral wouldve loved watching it, added Adeniyi whom came on as a 40thminute substitute for the injured Luke Read.

We did miss a few chances to make the game safe but, after each one, we said to each other we are not conceding today and the boys did their jobs to make sure that happened.

Saturdays FA Trophy game against Aveley is Carshaltons tenth knockout game of a busy season, but its a competition that does offer a route to Wembley.

The Robins have already beaten Merstham, Frome Town and Tooting and Mitcham United to reach the first round proper, while lower-league Aveley have won four matches to reach this stage.

Carshalton fans will be hoping their team can channel the spirit that saw them take National League Barnet to a replay in a third round proper last season.

Carshalton Athletic vs Aveley is at Colston Avenue on Saturday 14thDecember (kick-off 3pm).

Excerpt from:
Carshalton prepare for FA Trophy tie with 1-0 win over Bognor Regis - Richmond and Twickenham Times

Ab de Villiers. (Photo Source: Twitter)

The second edition of the Mzansi Super League (MSL) has reached close to its climax. Paarl Rocks have qualified for the final and are awaiting for their opposition which will be decided via an eliminator. Nelson Mandela Bay Giants and Tshwane Spartans will face-off to seal the second finalist spot. The Giants have been consistent throughout the season but missed a direct qualification to the fina; by a whisker losing to the Rocks.

The Spartans, on the other hand, won fewer matches compared to Cape Town Blitz but still ended up at the third position. 5 washed out matches and three thumping wins, one of them coming with a bonus win, helped them go ahead. Luck was with them throughout it seems as the last league game between Jozi Stars and Durban Heat also got washed out. It crashed the hopes of the Heat going through to the knockout game.

As far as the current form is concerned, both the teams are fairly struggling. The Spartans havent won in the last four matches. Their last two encounters were washed out and the team had lost two games prior to it. The Giants too have won only a couple in their last five matches. It will be interesting to see who comes out on top to qualify for the final. If rain plays spoilsport again, the match will go into the reserve day, unlike the last season.

The forecast is for a clear day in Port Elizabeth on Friday with no chances of rain whatsoever. Though it is expected to get cloudy around 8 PM, the heavens are not expected to open up. The temperature will hover around 22-24 Degrees Celsius during the match. As far as the pitch is concerned, it has been a belter for batting so far this season with the scores hovering over and around 160-170 consistently.

The Giants lost their previous game to the Rocks and might ponder over bringing in Junior Dala for Mthiwekhaya Nabe. Nabe bowled only a couple of overs and went for 21 runs and Dala might be able to sustain the pressure of the knockout game. Roys injury has also hurt the team at the top and Breetzke will be expected to get going from the word go.

Kuhn, Smuts and Dunk have been brilliant for them while Marco Marais has been the find for them with the bat. Morris, Burger and Imran Tahir have looked after the bowling attack and will have to play their best cricket on Friday to go past the Spartans.

Probable XI:Ben Dunk (wk), Matthew Breetzke, JJ Smuts (C), Heino Kuhn, Ryan ten Doeschate, Marco Marais, Chris Morris, Nande Burger, Akhona Mnyaka,Imran Tahir,Mthiwekhaya Nabe/Junior Dala.

Tshwane Spartans have not taken the field since December 3 when they lost to the same team at the same venue, St Georges Park. However, they are not expected to make any changes to their line-up with Mulder doing well opening the innings. Dean Elgar hasnt clicked like he wanted to and might continue to warm the bench as well. However, with AB de Villiers and Petrus van Biljon in full flow, the Spartans will bank on the duo to come good in the crunch game.

Probable XI:Tony de Zorzi, Wiaan Mulder, AB de Villiers, Heinrich Klaasen (C & WK), Petrus van Biljon, Tom Curran, Roelof van der Merwe, Corbin Bosch,Morne Morkel,Lungi Ngidi,Waqar Salamkheil.

JJ Smuts Nelson Mandela Bay Giants | AB de Villiers Tshwane Spartans

TV Sony Six, Sony Six HD

Online Sony LIV, Fancode

Match Timings 9 PM IST and 5:30 PM local time

Read the original here:
MSL 2019: Eliminator, Nelson Mandela Bay Giants vs Tshwane Spartans: Match Prediction Weather Report, Pitch Conditions, Playing XIs and Live...

This evening should offer a clue as to where Angel Gomes sits in the Manchester United pecking order.

Gomes impressed in Uniteds Europa League game against Astana, but did he do enough to work his way into the first team squad?

Tonight provides United with a very distinct choice over Gomes, with two fixtures to be played.

The first game is the match we have all been concentrating on. Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.

The other one is Tranmere Rovers v Manchester Uniteds under-21s in the EFL Trophy.

We are not expecting or even calling for Gomes to be named as a starter against Tottenham.

It would be a positive step if he is named on the bench against Spurs.

Gomes wont fear Tottenham at all. He showed his quality against them in pre-season in China when he danced through their defence before scoring a winner from a tight angle.

It was a sign of what he is capable of and why United need to be patient with him.

This is a chance for United to show faith in him and bring him into the squad, and encourage him to do the same again.

What is the benefit of playing or naming Juan Mata on the bench? He was terrible against Villa at the weekend and must soon be running out of chances.

Gomes is probably most likely to be with the under-21s. This is a knockout game against Tranmere and United will want to put a good team out and get to the next round.

The England under-20 international played in one of the three group stage games, with United winning all of them while conceding just once.

Gomes could get another chance in the Europa League against AZ Alkmaar, or Colchester in the Carabao Cup later this month.

This could be a good chance for him to get more game time, and United may be interested to see the attitudes of their young players who featured against Astana and see how they respond.

It would be a shame for Gomes to miss out on the first team game against Spurs after what he did against them in July. That might not be lost on him.

United are trying to get him to sign a new contract, and this distinct choice which could see him back with the under-21s may be frustrating for him.

If that decision is made, United need to sell it to him that he needs the minutes, and if he does well he will be back with the first team for the cup games.

United are low on options for the playmaker position at first team level, and Gomes has potential.

Jose Mourinho gave him his debut back in 2017. It would be a great story if he came on to make an impact against him tonight. But he will probably be at Tranmeres Prentice Park instead.

Have something to tell us about this article?

View post:
Angel Gomes has an important night for United, but for which team? - United In Focus - Manchester United FC News

DOTA Underlords has just received a massive update that introduces the much faster-paced game mode Knockout to the Auto Chess-like strategy game.

Knockout gives you a crew of heroes automatically but only gives you four lives rather than the usual health bar. Four strikes and youre out.

Theres also a brand new character, Snapfire, which features the Ol Scatterblast weapon and Mortimer Kisses Dragon Ability.

Spirit is a brand new alliance that allows three spirits to enter a charged state when theyre together, allowing them to perform the Delta Slam technique.

The alliance also introduces four new characters, including the Void Spirit, Storm Spirit, Earth Spirit, and Ember Spirit. Only the Void Spirit is available right now though.

So head on over to Google Play right now to check out the latest update for DOTA Underlords.

More here:
DOTA Underlords Gets the Massive Outlanders Update, Featuring the Fast-paced Knockout Game Mode - DroidGamers